DIVORCE MEDIATORS by day and wedding crashers by weekend, John and Jeremy are the charming-est guys at the party—not that they were invited, not that they even know the bride and groom. These guys are on the take for bridesmaids and hors d’oeuvres. And as certain as layer cake and “Here Comes the Bride,” they always score both. Assigning themselves to an obscure outpost on the wedding party’s family tree, they wow the hosts and guests with smooth conversation and polished dance moves, while the bridesmaids observe and swoon.
Crashing provides a happy and fruitful hobby with no obvious consequences, until they invade the prominent Cleary wedding. John is smitten with sister-of-the-bride Claire Cleary, while Jeremy meets his match in Gloria, Claire’s cute nymphomaniac sister.
Can Jeremy escape the clutches of Gloria the clinger? Is Claire available, or is she spoken for by an irritating blueblood? Writers Steve Faber and Bob Fisher navigate through some predictable plot twists, but mostly they entertain us in spades by taking a crazy idea and running all the way to the altar. True, they skimp on story points such as how these two trespassers always manage to seat themselves at reception tables in spite of the fact that seating placements are assigned. Not that these omissions put a damper on the movie—any more than the episodes of schmaltz—but last time I checked it was my job to point this out.
Reminiscent of Something About Mary and Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers delivers a whole lotta laughs through the highly synchronized buddy team of John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn).The sterling silver cast includes the consistent Christopher Walken—who is a little underutilized here, Jane Seymour as his wife who stages a “Mrs. Robinson” routine, and a cameo by Will Ferrell as Chaz, the mentor/inventor of wedding-crashing who discovers greener pastures than weddings. Owen Wilson embodies the wise, sensitive, charismatic man proclaiming to attractive bridesmaids that we only use 10 percent of our hearts. By the end of the film he even got to me. And paired with the very tall and imposing Vaughn, Wilson makes this film worth crashing, whether you’re invited or not.